Thanks to falling infection numbers, Los Angeles County Thursday moved out of the federal government's 'high' COVID-19 activity category and into the 'medium' level.
category and into the "medium" level, but the county's health director warned that transmission remains elevated and urged people to exercise caution over the holidays.was 180 per 100,000 residents, down from 204 per 100,000 a week ago. That dropped the county below the threshold of 200 per 100,000 residents for the "high" community activity level set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ferrer warned Thursday, however, that given continued high transmission, "if the case rate increases even a little bit, we would again be moved into `high."'New cases in Los Angeles County are down 21%, leaving health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer cautiously optimistic. Mask wearing continues to be "strongly recommended" by the county at indoor public settings. But Ferrer said that even absent a mandate, residents should start wearing them, given the elevated rate of transmission.
The number of available staffed hospital beds in the county, meanwhile, continues to remain at its lowest level in four years, averaging 210 during the month of December. She said bed availability is impacted by both the number of patients and the level of hospital staffing.
Health officials have estimated that roughly 40% of patients with the virus were admitted for actual COVID-related ailments, while others were hospitalized for other reasons, with many only learning they were infected upon admission.
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